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French and Indian War BY scarcer The French and Indian War was one of the bloodiest wars of the 18th century. This war was a continuation of the Seven Years War that had primarily took place In Europe. The French and Indian War was the struggle between France and England for supremacy In North America in regards to trade, expansion, and wealth. Britain ended up victorious In the French and Indian war; however, this success ended up costing Brutal and Its colonies a significant amount of problems. Due to the enormous debt, and territorial gains that Britain amassed during the French and
Indian war, Britain tightened control over its colonies and started to tax its colonies more than ever before. This change in imperial design led to a strained and tense relationship between Great Britain and its colonies which laid the foundation for conflict, eventually leading to the American Revolution. Outside Pieces of Evidence Treaty of Paris (1763)- France loses land, gives It up to the British Various taxes/ acts that were created: Sugar Act of 1764, Stamp Act of 1765, Mutiny Act of 1765, Townsend Duties, Tea Act of 1 773, Coercive Act of 1774, and Quebec Act George
Greenville Colonial resistance: boycotts, Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, Sons of Liberty Ideology in the colonies: autonomous but loyal to parent country, local government through provincial assemblies Unstable leadership in England and colonies due to King George Ill (suffered from bouts of insanity) Mercantilism Salutary neglect Commercial vs. Territorial Imperialists- mercantilism in England wanted most commercially valuable lands of the French after the war while the territorial’s in America wanted more land Virginia Resolves-Virginians should not pay any taxes except those which have been voted on by the Virginia assembly, and anyone who supports Parliament taxing Virginians Is “an enemy of the colony’ Internal vs. External taxes “No taxation without representation” Various political bodies in colonies: provincial assemblies, Committees of Correspondence, Continental Congress Repeal of Stamp Act; The Declaratory Act Lexington and Concord- first shots of the American Revolution and “shots heard around the world Analysis of Documents Document 1 (historical context): Document 1 shows two maps in which it compares vision of land in North America by various empires before 1754 and after 1763. In 1754, French territory covers land east and west of the Mississippi River. They have a significant hold on North America; however, after 1763, French presence In North America Is nonexistent.
Due to the French losing the French and Indian War, they had to cede their territory under Treaty of Paris. They gave Canada and all their of Mississippi and New Orleans to the Spanish. From then on, the English and the Spanish were the two competing empires in the North America. Notably, England’s acquisition of land leads to several of administration problems since the empire has almost doubled in size in North America. Additionally, the British start expanding their empire westwards after they gained all the land. Document 2 (Point-of-View): The point-of-view of document 2 is that of a male, American soldier. He is not a rich man but a common soldier. He expresses his frustration over the army in his diary.
The soldier has a bad experience with the army; he complain about the terrible conditions (cold weather, lack of supplies), and of being “denied Englishmen liberty’. He views the army as hierarchical institution where soldiers are treated like slaves by higher officials. He does not want to reenlist in the army. The soldier has this perspective of the army due to his class status, nationality, and ideologies. The soldier is not of the rich class nor is he a high ranking official. The British army is highly stratified; there is a big difference in how generals and officers are treated in comparison to the common soldier. The common soldier would often be lacking supplies while the higher ranking officials had almost all their needs satisfied. Additionally, the soldier is American.
In the French and Indian war, American soldiers had to serve along with seasoned, and experienced British soldiers. This often led to American soldiers being looked down upon and treated worse by their British counterparts. Lastly, the American soldier was horrified at the relationship between officers and soldier; he referred to it as a slave-master relationship. This is due to a certain ideology that existed within American society about equality among men. British society is rigidly organized by classes and social status and so this is owe the army was set up as well. The British soldiers were comfortable with a level of deference that the American soldier was not used to.
Document 3 (Historical Context): Document 3 describes the Proclamation of 1763 in which the British government ruled that colonists should not settle or expand westwards. After the French and Indian War, English colonists were eager to expand westwards; however, the one major problem with this desire was the Indians. The colonists were encroaching on Indian territory and this was creating costly conflicts. Britain was already saddled with tremendous debt after the war and rapid expansion would increase this debt. Also, with this expansion westwards, they were losing people from the costal colonies which produced the most money for the empire.
This Proclamation would slow westward expansion and would be more economically profitable for the British Empire; however, the Proclamation of 1763 did not stop westward expansion. Colonists continued to move westwards. Document 4 (Audience): Document 4 describes the Quartering Act of 1765. This document was Ritter by members of the British government and the intended audience are American colonists. This document was most likely highly publicized/distributed within the colonies. This was a public document which informed the colonists that if needed, they would have to provide board and any other supplies to the British army. Since the audience are colonists, the tone is formal and commanding.
References to the “Majesty’ and by describing the colonies as the “Majesty’s dominions in America”, it serves to remind colonists of their subservient position and that their land actually obedience of the audience, the colonists, to the Quartering Act. Document 5 (Purpose and Audience): Document 5 is a newspaper article that was written by William Bradford about the Stamp Act. The audience of this document is other colonists and the purpose was to publicize discontent of the Stamp Act. Most of the audience is not as passionate about their displeasure with the Stamp Act in comparison to colonists like Bradford. These newspapers were circulated throughout the colonies; the document contains powerful images and words in order in order to evoke a spirit of discontent and revolt.
There are skull bones illustrated throughout the newspaper which are supposed to represent the death of freedom, liberty, and other American principles under the Stamp Act. Additionally, Bradford uses highly negative language in reference to the Stamp Act; at one point, he describes it as an act of slavery. All of this served to rile up other colonists. In order for any change to happen, the majority has to be in one accord. Document 6 (Point-of-view): Document 6 is written by John Hancock and he is retesting the Townsend Acts. John Hancock is a wealthy, male, American who is involved in government. John Hancock views the Townsend Acts as unconstitutional and put in place without the consent of the colonists. Moreover, he believes he has the right to question the Townsend Duties.
Therefore, he is confused by the disestablishment of the General Assembly (the assembly was dissolved because it refused overturn a resolution that said subjects can petition the king). John Hancock has these views because of ideologies that existed within American colonies. In the loonies, a principle and expectation of autonomy arose over time as the colonists developed their own governmental structures (ex: provincial assemblies). He does not support the Townsend Acts because he believes it is interfering with the autonomy of the colonies. Colonial leaders like Hancock believed that provincial assemblies only had the right to tax its colonies (internal taxation). Furthermore, there was a concept of equality among all men in America.
Therefore, John Hancock believed he had the right to voice his discontent; he viewed this as the innate right of very man. Document 7 (Purpose): The basic premise of this document is that the American colonies are being oppressed economically (taxation) by the British and were the colonies freed of Britain, they would be much more prosperous. Authors like Charles English wrote about the British Empire in order to express their frustrations and to spread discontent among the colonies. In 1775, the first shots of the Revolutionary War had already been fired. Public discontent with the British Empire were at a high and literature like document 7 served to rile up the American public for war.